buffyrants:

Liam was born in 1727 in Galway, Ireland, and died in 1753. During this time of Irish history, the economy was failing significantly due to stagnation in trade, harsh laws from England, and a multitude of disease and famine. There was a lot of poverty resulting in a lot of hatred towards England and towards bankers.

The bankers were blamed for the “coin shortage” in Ireland at the time. They were blamed for leaving Ireland dependent upon a useless currency by saying that they were making a large profit selling Irish silver over-seas reducing the currency the Irish had at home and forcing them to use gold. Moreover, banks and public financial institutions were held in contempt as something “from England”. Interest was considered to be too high, moneylenders were considered to be unethical, and money in general wasn’t trusted. Land was considered to be the truest value of wealth. This lead to another reason for the Irish to hate the English, as due to their laws condemning Roman Catholics, Catholics lost a lot of land. This might also explain some of Angel’s attitudes towards finances. Notably that, despite his centuries of life, he has no investment portfolio, and understands very little about banking, mortgages, and loans. He expresses little interest in it, no pun intended. (Also, Liam was indulged a lot as a child, and during the famine of 1740-41 which was devastating, food was given to the merchants to store, and the merchants were favored so that they would help cater to the gentry, so Liam was taught at a young age that everything would work itself out. Learning how to take care of himself, not everything is handed to you, is as important an issue with Liam/Angel as redemption.)

The nature of the instability at the time of Liam’s childhood also explains a great deal about the nature of his father’s business and his family’s position. Galway remains the most predominantly Catholic area of Ireland, and Liam was almost certainly raised Catholic. Hence, his family owned little land and were even barred from owning a horse worth more then five pounds. As a result, they were forced to enter into trade. Trade wasn’t a necessarily respected or popular occupation. However, the silk and linen trade that Liam’s father was in was seen as necessary as a means of improving Ireland’s exports. Thus, Liam’s family was not gentry, (although they may have been at one point before losing their land), however, they would have been wealthier then most families and would have had their position grudgingly accepted by the rest of the village. Liam’s family would have been dealing with hard times though. The export of goods to non-English colonies cost a lot of duty, and to export to an English colony the merchandise had to be loaded on English ships. Moreover, the linen trade was beginning to be outstripped by cotton. Liam implies that the family has fallen on hard times when he points out to his father, disdainfully, that they only have “one servant.” Also, in Spin the Bottle, sixteen your old Liam makes it abundantly clear that he has no love for the English calling them “pigs.”

Additional complications that came from being Catholic was that one could not join the military, could not hold most public offices, marry a non-Catholic, could not vote, own a lease worth more than 31 years, and, perhaps worst of all, could not get a higher education which also would have deeply affected Liam. In fact, when all of this is taken into consideration, one can understand a lot about Liam/Angel/Angelus’s character(s). Liam would have had a huge burden placed upon him by a domineering and controlling father. Liam’s father would have wanted Liam to work hard and take over the failing business, and while, in the beginning, Liam worked hard to please his father, he found himself unable. (I also doubt Angel/Liam would have held much interest in trade of all things, anyway.) This alone might not have created such a shocking rift between them if not for other factors that caused Liam to blame his father for the other limitations on his life. Liam wanted to “see the world,” but he was denied. He could not serve as a sailor on his father’s ships, as they were English. He could not join the navy or the army because he was Catholic. Right there, his father’s refusal to convert cost Liam a lot. Liam is also very intellectual and artistic, if he could not “see the world,” he would have liked to have been educated at a university, perhaps. Nonetheless, he could not, because his family was Catholic.

We can see Liam’s disdain for his father’s stubbornness regarding religion when he claims that his father is at church repenting of his many sins and “well he should.” Liam would have felt trapped and wasted in a small town by a narrow-minded father. We know too that, when he was eighteen he had a failed relationship with a girl called Sarah, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was because, either she wasn’t Catholic, or she, or her family, pointed out that Liam’s prospects weren’t very good or both. How could he support a family? Hence, he drank his troubles away. I would also say that Liam’s love for women with adventure, strength, and spirit, is because he wanted to break free himself, and he got tired of women who told him that he couldn’t. He was tired of feeling trapped. Angelus, being an evil creature who hated God takes Liam’s frustration with Catholicism to a whole new level. He carves crosses in his victims left cheek for a time. He targets nuns. He attacks convents. He turned Drusilla after breaking her. He made a point of targeting anything “pure.” Angel’s later journey for redemption and atonement is influenced by his understanding of God as defined in his childhood. His childhood in Ireland is something he will always carry with him.

Note: Angel’s mother tongue would have been Irish Gaelic. He may have been able to speak English due to his father’s trade, but almost no one he knew would have been able to.

Angelus could also be a reference to Catholic mass, which is just another way for Angelus to mock religion, as well as his own family, like his sister, who thought he was an Angel.

Kathy, Angel’s sister, like most young girls of her position was probably tutored in things like drawing and art. They have a close relationship and Angel/Liam probably began his artistic explorations with her. This would likely have frustrated his father who is known to have lamented that he wanted a son, a man, not whatever Liam was. Drawing was what wealthy women did, not the men.